Not Always Black And White
by AstrophobicChick
Summary: To save Elena from Klaus, Stefan agrees to take Kol under his wing and teach him some manners. He expects it to be difficult, Hell even, but he doesn't expect to find his soul mate. He saves Kol from being daggered for eternity and Kol saves him from himself. {Eventual Kol/Stefan. Set after Kol's been undaggered. Smut later on.}
1. The Deal

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything apart from the idea for this plot. None of the characters are mine. (Unfortunately)**

**Thanks to Steph for sorting out my errors and fails. :)**

**Enjoy**

No.'

'No.'

No.

Definitely not.

They couldn't be serious. Could they?

Stefan rubbed his ears with both hands and looked between Damon and Klaus, convinced that he was hearing incorrectly or had finally lost his mind. It could happen. He saw Kol doing the same thing across the room and wondered if this was some sort of disturbing joke. They were all, apart from Kol, stood around the fireplace in Klaus**'s** Manor discussing Elena when Damon came up with his _amazing _idea. Or at least he and Klaus thought it was amazing. Stefan and Kol couldn't look more horrified if they tried.

'You can't be serious?' Stefan asked, turning to face his brother. 'I know you're pissed that Elena loves me more but this is insane, brother.'

Damon's jaw tightened at the mention of Elena but otherwise ignored his brother's attempt at winding him up, instead returning Stefan's stare with a small smirk.

'I think it's a perfect idea. It will keep you both out of trouble, and he may even make you less broody.'

Kol turned to Klaus, trying and failing to hide how perturbedhe looked at this whole idea.

'I don't want to live with him. He can't even handle blood like a proper vampire.' He shot Stefan a curled lip and carried on, 'I don't even cause _that _much trouble, not really.'

'It's either this or you're getting daggered again. Maybe even white oak staked, because quite frankly, _brother, _you just don't learn.'

He was bluffing, of course he was. He would never permanently kill his brother, no matter how tempting it got. And it was_very _tempting at times. But still, he kept his face straight and met his brother's gaze steadily, showing no sign of this being a game.

Kol opened his mouth to reply but got cut off by Stefan, who was looking just as pissed. 'This

is just for a few months, right? It's not permanently?'

'Three months,' Klaus replied, 'If you can't teach him manners and how to behave within three months, Elena is mine. This is the deal that your dear brother made, Stefan. I don't use Elena, if you can tame my unruly brother.'

Stefan shot a disgusted glare in Damon's direction.

'If looks could kill…' Kol muttered, 'But then again, a dead Damon wouldn't be such a bad thing after today.'

Stefan secretly agreed with him. This was all Damon's fault. Why did _he _have to deal with the unstable Mikaelson brother? Sure, he had a history with Rebekah and Klaus, but that didn't mean he was the new Original babysitter.

'What if I don't agree?' He asked Klaus sulkily, 'Because there's more chance of Caroline growing brain cells than there is of this working.'

'I take Elena anyway.' Klaus smiled, straightening out a faint crease in his jumper, 'So you really have no choice in the matter.'

He held his hand out for Damon to shake, and both Kol and Stefan looked on in disbelief as the older Salvatore shook it firmly.

'Deal done.'

Klaus wandered over to the door and held it open, 'Thanks for coming over, Elijah and I have more family business to deal with, so please, go home. Oh, and take my younger brother with you. The deal starts today.'

Stefan stalked out of the room first, followed by Damon, with Kol bringing up the rear, shooting his brother irritated death glares.

'You'll regret this.' He muttered as he passed by where Klaus stood, 'I'll burn all your precious paintings and use the ashes as confetti if you ever get married.'

'Sure you will, brother, sure you will.'

And with that, he slammed the door in Kol's face and went to get a whiskey.

* * *

The drive back to the boarding house wasn't exactly fun. No one spoke to each other and the tension could literally be cut with a chainsaw. Kol wanted to cut _something _with a chainsaw. Something beginning with D. Something that looked particularly smug sat up in the front seat, one hand on the wheel while the other ran through his sleek black locks as though he thought he was a mythical God or something.

Stefan on the other hand, wanted to cut himself with the chainsaw. Anything to get out of doing this insane deal that Damon and Klaus thought would work. _Were they on drugs? Was this punishment for something? _Stefan didn't know, but he didn't like it.

He rested his arm against the door of the car and watched absentmindedly as his breath slowly fogged up the passenger window. The next three months were going to be absolute Hell and he knew it. He half hoped that the Original would snap after the first day and either kill him or run away. He half wondered if he could _push_ said Original to do one of those things. It certainly was tempting, and it would save him a lot of sanity and wasted time.

Peering around in his seat, he watched as Kol stared blankly at the ceiling, not moving or saying a word. His hands were linked together in his lap and none of Damon's erratic jerks of the wheel shook him from his trance.

'I think Kol's gone into shock,' Stefan muttered, finally looking at his brother now. 'Or maybe he's hoping that this is all a stupid nightmare that he'll wake up from soon. I know that that's what _I'm_ thinking.'

Damon glanced at the rear view mirror quickly before slamming on the brakes, sending an unsuspecting Kol flying into his seat with a thud and a yelp.

'Wakey wakey, Mikaelson.' He said cheerfully, starting the car up again and carrying on down the road like nothing's happened.

Kol growled some choice swear words and leaned back into his seat again, barely resisting the urge to snap Damon's stupid neck. Maybe he could compel the idiotic Salvatore to shave his head, or dye his eyebrows blonde, or something equally hilarious. He smiled to himself at the thought and said nothing for the rest of the journey.

'Pissing him off isn't the smartest thing to do, Damon.'

Damon just shrugged and pulled into the boarding house's driveway, killing the engine with a twist of his hand and climbing out of the car.

'Welcome to your new home, little Original. I'll let Stefan show you around.'

* * *

_Five minutes later..._

'What's that?'

'Microwave.'

'And that?'

'Coffee maker.'

Stefan leaned against the counter and watched in mild amusement as Kol walked around the kitchen, pointing out random appliances. He stopped by the dishwasher and pulled open the door, peeking inside to see all the pristine plates and cutlery sitting there waiting to be unloaded.

'Dishwasher.'

'I could have guessed that one.' Kol shut the door and folded his arms across his chest. 'So this is the modern day version of maids and shit?'

Stefan nodded, 'Pretty much.'

He heard the familiar tap of heels on the wooden floor in the hallway and swung his head around to see Elena entering the kitchen. She froze at the sight of Kol and made several goldfish faces at him before finally rounding on Stefan, both eyebrows raised.

'You have an Original in your house.' She said simply.

Kol snorted.

Stefan pushed himself away from the counter and walked over to her, taking one of her hands in his. 'He's staying with us for a bit. Ask Damon. It was _his_ bright idea.'

He forced a smile and dropped her hand before motioning for Kol to follow him, leaving a gobsmacked Elena standing in the kitchen. 'Come on, I'll show you to your bedroom.'


	2. Settling In

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or the characters. I wish I did.  
**

**Thanks to Steph again for beta-ing it for me. :) **

* * *

**(Back at the Manor.)**

'You've raised the stakes pretty high, brother.'

Elijah poured out two glasses of whiskey and padded across the soft rugged floor to hand Klaus his drink. It was two hours since Damon, Stefan and Kol had left, and they were both sat in the lounge, Klaus in his armchair and Elijah on the couch.

'I don't think so.' Klaus swirled his drink around anticlockwise several times before finally taking a small sip. 'Kol can't be tamed, he can't be taught manners. You should know that, brother, we all tried at one stage to make him semi stable, semi normal. We all failed. You really think that Stefan can do it? The ex-Ripper who can barely control his own emotions? It's almost laughable.'

'And what if they turn Elena in those three months? Make her a vampire. Then what?'

'They won't. Neither of them want her to be a vampire, do they? Especially not Stefan.' He set his drink down on the table and pulled out a book. 'Besides, neither of them know what Kol's really like. Not yet anyway.' A small smile licked its way onto his lips as he found the dog-eared page of his book. 'You should be thanking me, brother. It gets Kol off our backs for a few months."

Elijah frowned and parted his lips to reply when the door suddenly burst open and Rebekah marched towards them looking half confused and half angry at how relaxed Klaus was. 'Where's Kol? Please say he hasn't been out of his box for three hours and already caused Hell?'

She glanced from one brother to the other, waiting impatiently for a reply.

'He's with Stefan.' Elijah finally said, 'Klaus and Damon made a ... deal. Don't ask.' He downed his drink and stood up, clearly wanting to avoid another family argument tonight. 'He'll be fine though, don't worry.'

Rebekah snorted and threw herself onto the couch, 'I'm more worried about Stefan. He has no idea what he's gotten himself into.'

'They may end up being good for each other.' Klaus peered over the top of his book at Rebekah, carefully meeting her eye contact. 'Or he'll kill both of them, leaving Elena open for the taking. Both options work well for me.'

* * *

**(The next morning)**

Stefan thought he was doing pretty well with his Original training. He had successfully shown Kol how to work the TV, the radio and even allowed him to sit in his car (with the keys far, far away from the ignition). The first night had been pretty uneventful, with Kol going to bed at just gone twelve. Well, he saw him go into his bedroom at just gone twelve. Whether he slept or not was another matter, and Stefan didn't particularly care if Kol stayed awake all night. A sleepy Original would be easier to tame.

Or so he thought.

Stefan stepped out of the shower with a towel slung lazily around his waist and hummed a little tune under his breath as he made his way back towards the bedroom feeling rather good about today. That was until he saw Kol lounging on his bed with what looked suspiciously like a diary lying open in his lap.

'What's that?' He said in a small voice, hoping against hope that it wasn't what he thought it was.

Kol jerked his head up, his eyes red and puffy from laughing so much and shot Stefan a rather sheepish smile. 'I was waiting for you... And I got bored so... Is this really your life? It reads more like a car crash.' He wiped his eyes with one hand and started chuckling again, snapping the book closed.

'I never knew a guy could have so many feelings.' He snorted, standing up and stretching out his arms. 'You sure you have a dick down there? May want to double check, darling.'

'If you're bored, read a book or something.' Stefan growled, tightening the towel around himself.

Kol blinked. 'I did.'

'Not that book!' Barely resisting the urge to hit his head against the wall, Stefan pointed at all the bookshelves lining the room. 'Those books.'

Oh... I didn't see them. Besides, your journal is a far more fascinating read than them. You should get it published.' The Original lifted his lips into a sly smirk and added, 'Call it 'The Princess Diaries.' Maybe add a few pictures and you'll have a bestseller for sure.'

'Ha. Ha. Very funny.' Ignoring Kol's attempts at winding him up, Stefan stalked over and snatched up the diary, internally cringing when he realized that the contents included his Ripper days.

'Did you read the stuff about... Um... Your sister?' He kept his back to Kol as he asked, unsure if  
Kol was a protective brother or not. He didn't really fancy a snapped neck today. Especially when he was half naked.

'Yeah, I read it. All the gory details included.' He looked just as awkward as Stefan, subconsciously shifting from foot to foot. 'I do have a question though.'

Stefan pushed the journal back into its normal place on the shelf and turned to face the Original. 'Mmm?'

'When did your standards drop? You had Rebekah at one point... And by the sounds of it, she adored you. Although to be fair, she adores anyone that gives her attention.' Kol cleared his throat and carried on. 'Yet now you're with Elena. It doesn't make any sense to me, that's all.'

Stefan stiffened at Kol's words. 'What's wrong with Elena?'

'Where do I even start?' He cleared his throat loudly and held his hand open, bringing up a finger with each point. 'She's whiny, she plays you against your brother while claiming that she loves you both. She has no outstanding qualities and yet everyone is infatuated with her.'

'And how do you know about all of this? You've been out of the box for like a day.'

Kol shrugged and walked towards the door. 'Rebekah told me most of it. She seems to dislike Elena as much as I do.' He paused, swirling around to face Stefan fully. 'But love does make you blind, I suppose. If you can even call it that.'

'What would you even know about love? You need emotions for that, and I doubt that anyone is desperate enough to love you.'

He watched as Kol gave him an odd look before disappearing down the hallway, leaving Stefan mildly confused.

* * *

The rest of the day went peacefully for Stefan. He even managed to sneak out of the house for a few hours, figuring that Damon could manage babysitting the Original for a little while.

Kol stayed glued to the couch, flicking between watching TV and annoying Damon by commenting loudly on whatever the older Salvatore was watching or doing. His new favorite game was 'Let's see how many times I can mention Elena before I get threatened with the box again.'

'So, Damon...' He began, watching as the scruffy haired Salvatore poured out his tenth glass of bourbon. 'Why do you insist on stealing your brother's girlfriends? Don't you know about the bros before hoes code?'

Damon deliberately ignored his question. 'Bros before hoes code? You've been watching too much daytime TV.' He necked his drink and slammed the glass back down violently, casually pretending it was Kol's head.

'Well Elena was with Stefan first. And then you came along and stole her from under his nose. I just don't understand why. Do you steal everyone from him? If you do, you're a bit of a shit brother.' He swiftly ducked as a glass came flying towards his head, grazing over the top of his hair and smashing into the wall behind him. 'I've hit a nerve. That's amusing.'

Damon growled, grabbing a cloth and stalking over to where the smashed glass lay scattered across the wooden flooring. Bending down, he threw the shards into the fireplace and wiped up the small puddle of bourbon. 'Where is Stefan? He's meant to be looking after you. Not me.'

'I saw him sneaking out of the house an hour ago.'

'What an ass.' Damon straightened up and rubbed his brow before whipping the soggy washcloth at Kol's head, hiding a small smirk when the Original snarled in irritation. 'Oops. Didn't see you there.'

It was lucky that Stefan came through the door at that point as Kol was just about to use Damon's head as a bowling ball. He removed his arm from around Damon's throat and pointed at the package in Stefan's hand, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

'What's that? If it's a stake... I swear to God, you will both die. Painfully.'

Stefan snorted and pulled off the brown paper, revealing a brand new baseball bat. 'Present for you.'


End file.
